In road traffic, pulsed light sources, in particular periodically pulsed light sources, may be found as variable message signs, tail lights, or turn signals of vehicles, for example. Driver assistance systems, anticipatory sensor systems, or other imaging methods for a vehicle record the vehicle surroundings in order to further utilize information gained therefrom. Pulsed light sources pose a particular challenge in this. In the automotive field and many other fields, a high dynamic range is expected of cameras to ensure that the associated image processing algorithms function well even in difficult lighting situations, such as at tunnel entrances and tunnel exits, for example. For this reason, cameras having piecewise linear characteristic curves are frequently used. These piecewise linear characteristic curves allow a higher dynamic range to be depicted since the image goes into saturation later, because higher light intensities in the real space environment are more strongly compressed in the recorded image. As an alternative to this, every pixel is exposed within an exposure cycle directly consecutively using three different integration times, for example. The final gray scale value in the latter camera type is usually determined on every pixel by selecting the first non-saturated output voltage of a pixel. The integration time of the pixel, together with the output voltage, then results in the final gray scale value.
The unexamined patent application DE 10 2008 023853 A1 introduces a method for detecting an object, in which at least one light source of the object is illuminated in a pulsed manner, the light emitted by the light source is detectable by a detector unit, and the object is detected as a function of the detection of the light, a multiple exposure for generating an image being carried out by the detector unit to detect the light of the light source, and the total time duration of an exposure process having multiple exposures being set to be greater than the time duration of an off phase of the light source during a period duration of the light of the light source, which is emitted in a pulsed manner.